Walker Leads

This is positive news.

The new Marquette University Law School poll showed Walker taking a lead of 6 percentage points lead among likely voters, with the Republican governor 50 percent of the vote and Barrett with 44. The numbers were far closer just two weeks ago, when a poll released shortly before the May 8 recall primary showed Walker and Barrett in a virtual dead heat.

At the end of the day, it’s looking like Wisconsinites know Walker. They know Barrett. And not much has changed since last time.

Jobs and Dreams

It’s great news for Wisconsin that the state is adding jobs and the economy is improving. I largely agree with John Torinus’ take:

In short, the UI numbers are hard core numbers. It’s bed rock data.

The whole political brouhaha in the state has been over a survey conducted by the federal Department of Labor (DOL). For years, the less reliable survey numbers generally tracked pretty well with the UI census – until mid-year 2011. For Q3 2011, the DOL survey showed a job loss of 8500 in the state. When the real numbers came out from the UI census, Q3 showed a gain of 2876.

Of course, that variance was lost in the political dust, but it does show that something has gone kaflooey with the DOL survey. As one economist said, “Put a box of salt on the survey numbers.”

Gov. Walker’s people finally unearthed the Q4 UI numbers, and they reversed the jobs picture. Instead of losing jobs, the state is gaining jobs. That squares with every other economic metric, such as a falling unemployment rate, rising state tax revenues, rising personal incomes, Manpower surveys that show a pattern of increased hiring and an uptick in housing and auto sales.

Of course, the timing for the Q4 numbers was political. But it is also good policy to have the the freshest, cleanest numbers to work with. So, again, why haven’t the Q1 2012 numbers been made public? DWD has had them for two weeks. Someone should get fired if they aren’t released in the next week or so.

The public has a right to know how the state is doing on jobs in the timeliest manner – up or down, politics aside.

As a side note, Torinus tosses this into his commentary:

The American Dream is now a good job…

Wow. That’s quite a statement. While the definition of “The American Dream” has always been elusive, is Torinus right? It strikes me as marked downgrade of what most people thought of the American Dream even a few sort years ago. First of all, it’s a direct claim that people identify their goal and worth in terms of their employment. While many people do, the American Dream has historically been put in terms of an end - a lifesyle - a position of independence in life. This statement characterizes The Dream as just having a job, which is usually considered the means to the end. I need a job to earn money to be able to enjoy the lifestyle I want. Second, to say that the America Dream is to have a job emits a waft of desperation. Having a job should be an expectation and consequence of leading a life of value to others - not a dream.

Anyway, Torinus may be right about how people define the American Dream nowadays, but I sure hope not. That’s certianly not my American Dream.

Prayers for Lily

Little Lily Voelkel passed away yesterday. She was three. Our hearts go out to her family.

Walker lied?

My column for the Daily News is online. It’s called, “Walker lied?” Here’s a snippet:

What I can’t find in any of Barrett’s public documents or statements is what he would propose in his first budget should he be elected. He hasn’t said if he would change any of the tax code. He hasn’t published a policy statement on how he would change K-12 school funding. Nowhere has he said how he would reform BadgerCare or the prison system.

  Since the standard advocated by liberal recall supporters is that a governor should be recalled if he or she advances any policies that aren’t mentioned in a campaign, then we must think that a Gov. Barrett wouldn’t advocate any policies other than to reverse Act 10. He won’t propose a budget. He won’t change any policies regarding school funding. On the bright side, he won’t propose any laws regarding abortion or firearms. If he does, then we must maintain our newfound standard and recall him immediately.

Remiss

I admit, I’ve been remiss. We own a complete collection of James Fenimore Cooper’s works, but I have not read all of them. I’ve read a couple of his books, but not what he deserves. Let’s be fair… his works cover a shelf-and-a-half on our book shelf, so it will take me a while. Still… as long as I have books to read, I will never grow bored.

A Wee Bit of Tennyson

Amazing to envision war in the skies and the utopia of a Parliment of Man in one poem. I wonder if he appreciated the dichotomy.

For I dipt into the future, far as human eye could see,
Saw the Vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be;

Saw the heavens fill with commerce, argosies of magic sails,
Pilots of the purple twilight, dropping down with costly bales;

Heard the heavens fill with shouting, and there rain’d a ghastly dew
From the nations’ airy navies grappling in the central blue;

Far along the world-wide whisper of the south-wind rushing warm,
With the standards of the peoples plunging thro’ the thunder-storm;

Till the war-drums throbb’d, no longer, and the battle-flags were furl’d
In the Parliament of man, the Federation of the world.

There the common sense of most shall hold a fretful realm in awe,
And the kindly earth shall slumber, lapt in universal law.

Wisconsin Economy Improving

Candidate Barrett’s Wife Allegedly Engaged in Politics On Taxpayers’ Dime

Well, well...

A Media Trackers open records request revealed that Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett’s wife, Kris Barrett, who taught at Dover Elementary used her Milwaukee Public School email account to twice lobby Democratic lawmakers and a third time to recruit fellow teachers to campaign against County Executive candidate Jeff Stone. The use of a taxpayer funded email account for such political purposes is a gross misuse of resources and forbidden by the Milwaukee Public Schools Employee Code of Ethics as well as the MPS Staff Acceptable Use Policy.

I deeply anticipate Mayor Barrett’s condemnation of this alleged illegal activity and his demand for prosecution.

GAG Lawyer Says Governments Can Ban Guns At The Polls

Personally, I don’t think that the law includes election sites as a “special event,” nor do I think that was the intent of the provisions. After all, elections are normally regularly scheduled events. They aren’t “special.” Still, such an interpretation is not wholly unreasonable. If the DOJ upholds the interpretation, then hopefully the legislature can clarify the law before the taxpayers have to defend a lawsuit about it.

Madison - State election officials say local governments can ban concealed weapons at all polling sites, from city halls to assisted living homes.

Government Accountability Board attorney Mike Haas writes in a report that Wisconsin’s concealed carry law contains a provision that allows organizers to ban concealed weapons at special events. Haas writes that an election qualifies as a special event.

Town Bans Texting While Walking

The next step...

Avid texters beware: Fort Lee, N.J. police said they will begin issuing $85 jaywalking tickets to pedestrians who are caught texting while walking.

“It’s a big distraction. Pedestrians aren’t watching where they are going and they are not aware,” said Thomas Ripoli, chief of the Fort Lee Police Department.

Ripoli said the borough, which is home to approximately 35,000 residents, has suffered three fatal pedestrian-involved accidents this year. He hopes his crackdown on people who display dangerous behavior while walking will make his town safer, but not everyone is on board with the idea of issuing $85 tickets.

“...half a liter of urine per swimmer per day.”

That’s a lot of pee.

Peeing while swimming in a lake may not just be taboo – it could also be lethal, for the fish.

At least that’s what a group of anglers contend, blaming swimmers for the 500 dead fish that have turned up in a picturesque German lake near Hamburg, The Local reported.

“Swimmers who urinate in the lake are introducing a lot of phosphate,” Manfred Siedler, a spokesman for an angler’s group, told Bild newspaper. “We’re calculating half a liter of urine per swimmer per day.”

Man to Set Fist Pumping Record

You go, man!

A 34-year-old unemployed man from Ohio attempted to set a Guinness World Record over the weekend by fist pumping for 17 hours straight.

James Peterson began the attempt on Friday morning, according to the Akron Beacon Journal, and was scheduled to end at 3 a.m. local time Saturday. Peterson, a self-described fist-pumping “veteran,” was accompanied by a pair of videographers on his quest for the record—which included stops at bars in and around the Univ. of Akron.

“I did this on St. Patrick’s Day but it was not documented,” Peterson said, telling the paper that he super-glued his right fist closed “to ensure I maintain perfect fist formation.”

Milwaukee’s Air Service is Declining

I’ve certainly felt this.

Even more dramatic has been the erosion of nonstop destinations as Milwaukee lost the hub status it held during the glory days of Midwest and, briefly, under Frontier.

Little more than a year ago, carriers flew nonstop from Mitchell to 54 destinations. Frontier’s latest announced cuts will take the nonstop total to 36.

The casualties include several small cities, but also larger destinations such as Indianapolis, San Antonio and San Diego.

“There are definitely fewer choices,” said Neil Christensen, corporate accounts manager for Modern Travel Services in Germantown. “Even on cities where you have nonstops, there are fewer choices.

Fewer routes, higher fares

Among the remaining 36 flights, 12 have lost competition and have just one airline flying the route.

It stinks. I had a flight to Indianapolis on Frontier in a few weeks that was canceled. Now there’s no way to get there without a layover. For that, I’ll just drive it, and no airline gets my fare.

What Are Your Plans, Barrett?

I’ve heard this justification repeated over and over again.

“I try to help people understand that when Walker ran for office he did so in a dishonest way,” Salt said, citing how the governor didn’t talk publicly during the campaign about his intent to eliminate collective bargaining, even though he knew it would be a hugely controversial issue.

Let’s accept, for the sake of argument, that the assertion is true AND is a reasonable justification to engage in a historic recall effort. I know, I know, but for the sake of argument, bear with me.

If it is justifiable to recall a sitting governor for not spelling out in detail every policy action they may take over the course of four years in office, then we should expect to see exactly what Barrett’s first budget would look like, right? And we can assume that he won’t advance any policy initiatives he hasn’t already shared, right? And anything Barrett does in the future for which I can’t find a policy position on his website right now would be a justification to recall Barrett, right?

It would seem so.

West Bend’s Downtown Theater Sold

Good news. Let’s hope they can do something with it.

PRESCOTT INVESTS IN THE DOWNTOWN   MAY 11, 2012         By JUDY STEFFES

WEST BEND – There’s a new owner for the historic downtown West Bend Theatre.

Matt Prescott purchased the building, 125 N. Main St., Friday afternoon; the asking price was $196,900 and he closed at $100,000.

“Nothing like a decrepit old building to get you going,” he laughed.

This is the fourth property purchase downtown for Prescott and business partner Eric Nordeen. Over the past year the pair also invested in 111 N. Main (Baird building), 262 N. Main St. (Le’s Bridal), and 105 N. Main (Portrait’s Today).

“I see the theatre as an asset to the downtown,” said Prescott.

“I just wanted to take a chance, control an important part of downtown and see what we can do to make it better.”

Prescott, 37, made clear he will keep the West Bend marquee but he does not intend to restore the theatre to its historic status. Instead, he simply wants to demo the newer additions inside, hollow it out and get it back to the configuration of the old theatre.

“I want to stabilize it, get the roof back in shape and clean it up – so we know what we’re sitting on and see what uses people might come up with,” he said.

The downtown theatre has been on the market for a while. The asking price and assessed value ($175,000) have declined considerably and many interested parties have walked away.

Acknowledging the building had seen better days Prescott admitted the venture makes him nervous.

“I’ve driven past it a million times and never ever considered walking through it,” he said. “I understand it’ll take quite a bit of work but the other day I saw the listing again and thought I’d take a chance.”

Mayor Kraig Sadownikow praised the sale of the movie theatre as another example of the positive momentum building in West Bend.

“This community has worked hard to be able to offer award winning quality-of-life features, outstanding educational systems, and a say ‘Yes’ to business attitude,” he said.

Over the past few years there have been many noticeable investments in the downtown including the 2009 remodeling of the old Chicago and Northwestern Railroad depot, the widening of the Highway 33 bridge, reconfiguring of Veterans Ave., sale of the Washington House and the Ziegler building, and the construction of a new Museum of Wisconsin Art.

Sadownikow defines it with one word: opportunity.

“A city is just a couple buildings and some trucks, a community is what we create when we work together toward a common goal,” he said.

“The recent success and positive future outlook for the downtown area takes all of us to be successful.” Sadownikow compared the community’s downtown to the core of an apple.

“If you let the core rot, the entire apple goes bad. For decades we all have invested time, energy, and money in our downtown to ensure our core is solid.

“We have more work to do, however, these recent examples of success are just the beginning of what will be a stronger downtown,” said Sadownikow.

Josephine Minskey is the Executive Director of the Downtown West Bend Association.

She expressed total enthusiasm when told of the sale. “Yes. Finally!” said Minskey.

The West Bend Theatre had been on the block and through a variety of realtors the past four years.

Although the building had been for sale, the DWBA made an investment to keep the iconic cinema marquee lit year round.

“Nearly everyone who lives here has memories of the theater in better days,” said Minskey.

“It speaks to a time when downtowns were the hub of social activity. The West Bend Theatre is a key piece of downtown revitalization and the new owners will be in good company with others who are investing in the future of downtown through building renovation,” she said.

Last year over $37 million was invested in Wisconsin Main Street Communities, which are small to mid-sized cities like West Bend.

Minskey believed the investment dollars are an early indication that the focus is shifting back to downtowns- to local property-and-business owners.

“The Museum of Wisconsin Art will forever change the landscape downtown,” she said.

“It has been the catalyst for so much other growth and development like construction of the pedestrian bridge, façade improvements and riverbank revitalization.

“We are going to look back on this time as the beginning of a great, new phase of development for Downtown West Bend,” said Minskey.